For those that dabble between old school Adventures and the DarkSide, you can have the best of both worlds.

You can download the [url=The demo download link is in this Kickstarter update: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2112639455/mages-initiation-a-classic-sierra-style-adventure/posts/428693]Demo here. [/url]

Quote:

The Game: An Old-School Adventure / RPG Hybrid

Sixteen-year-old D'arc has spent most of his life training in the elemental arts, in hopes of becoming a respected Mage of Iginor. Now he must prove himself by succeeding in three tasks around the perilous Iginor countryside. With the storytelling and puzzle solving of an adventure game and the customization and stat building of an RPG, Mage's Initiation is a unique hybrid that will be experienced differently by everyone who plays it.

The Team: Anonymous No MoreHimalaya Studios have been making retro-styled adventure games for twelve years -- mostly freeware labors of love. The Anonymous Game Developers got their start with a fan remake of Sierra's flagship adventure, King's Quest I, which they updated with a point and click interface, SVGA graphics, and voice acting. This "anonymous" tradition continued with revamps of the next two King's Quest games and Quest for Glory II, all of which the team released as freeware under the name AGD Interactive. They also released an original commercial game, Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine, as Himalaya Studios. Learn more: http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/games.html

The Kickstarter: A Campaign Fit for a MageDevelopment of Mage's Initiation started in February 2011, after a community poll revealed that an adventure / RPG hybrid was the type of game their fans wanted most. The team has self-funded the project thus far and are prepared to keep doing so, but that could add years to the development time. So, they're turning to Kickstarter for a boost.

But raising money isn't the only goal. All along, Himalaya has planned to release a boxed Collector's Edition and other goodies -- the sorts of "feelies" that used to come standard in game boxes. (Remember those days?!) Without an infrastructure for taking orders and processing payments, this small team would have to pull themselves away from the game's development to get it done. But with Kickstarter, they can make their feelie dreams a reality. And the goodies they're offering... let's just say they're pretty sweet! Check out the Kickstarter here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2112639455/mages-initiation-a-classic-sierra-style-adventure

Very promising, indeed. I, too, wonder what elements of RPG will be involved. The current true RPG titles now have very developed skill systems, so I am not sure this game can match that level of integration.

I am also surprised (but glad) that Himalaya Studios is back with another game. It was rumored that the developer's last game, Al Emmo, never sold well, though the developer never released any official figures. Was a bit worried that another indie developer may bite the dust. So I am happy that it is back with another project.